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Nikki Crutchley – No One Can Hear You Review

Genre: Crime ThrillerLength: 282 PagesPublisher: Oak House PressRelease date: September 24, 2018Synopsis:He said that they’d let me go on purpose. That they could easily find me if they wanted to. He said that they didn’t want me. That I was too much trouble. He said if I went to the cops, he’d know. If I told Sonya, he’d know. If I talked to friends or teachers, he’d know. He told me to pretend it didn’t happen. He told me to consider it a compliment, that I was too strong. His last words to me were, ‘Just forget’.

Troubled teen Faith Marsden was one of several girls abducted from Crawton, a country town known for its picturesque lake and fertile farmland. Unlike the others, she escaped, though sixteen years on she still bears the emotional and physical scars.

Zoe Haywood returns to Crawton to bury her estranged mother Lillian, who has taken her own life. As she and Faith rekindle their high-school friendship, they discover notes left by Lillian that point to two more young women who recently disappeared from Crawton. But Lillian’s confused ramblings leave them with more questions than answers.

As Faith and Zoe delve deeper into the mystery, they become intent on saving the missing women, but in doing so are drawn into Auckland’s hidden world of drugs, abduction and murder. And then Faith decides to confront the mastermind – on her own.

Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review

No One Can Here You was a very engaging read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the storytelling. A good portion of the story was about the lost relationship between Zoe and her mother, Lillian. Zoe’s realization that Lillian wasn’t who she remembered through her teenage eyes tugged at my sensitive side. The mystery surrounding the missing girls and Lillian’s role had me in a firm grip as I tried to work out what role all the key characters played. I love a good mystery and this one wasn’t given away too soon.

I enjoyed our protagonist, Zoe, she was a well thought out character. She felt genuine as she came to terms with the mother she remembered vs the one everyone else knew. As we learn more about Lillian, it fast become apparent that Zoe realized there were many wasted years lost between them. I don’t see enough books with women as the main character and was glad to get a strong and confident one here. I also really enjoyed the flavor of the writing with phrases like, ‘done a runner, or ‘torches’, also when referring to a car, ‘the boot’. These subtle language differences added an extra element and made this a fun read, and one I would recommend.

Nikki Crutchley lives in Cambridge, New Zealand with her husband and two daughters. No One Can Hear You is Nikki’s second crime novel, set in the small Waikato town of Crawton. Her first book, Nothing Bad Happens Here, a crime/thriller set on the Coromandel Coast of New Zealand was a finalist in the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Award for best first novel. Nikki has worked in libraries in New Zealand and the UK and now works as a freelance proofreader. Nikki’s flash fiction has been published online and in the Fresh Ink anthology and the upcoming Bonsai anthology.